Hi Landcarers

Even though we are still in lockdown, we can still be looking forward to The Aussie Backyard Bird Count during October.

Our mates at the Lachlan Valley Branch of the National Parks Association (NPA) would normally have a fabulous line up of Spring walks planned. They are chomping at the bit to get out into walks at this time of the year, so keep an eye out for their upcoming walks when COVID19 restrictions are eased.

Walking with the group is a fabulous way to learn more about our native wildlife and plants.

The Aussie Bird Count is a great way to connect with the birds in your backyard no matter where your backyard happens to be — a suburban backyard, a local park, a patch of forest, down by the beach, or the main street of town.

The Count week is held between 18 – 24 October. Usually Landcare try to work in a ‘bird’ related event to tie in with the week, but at this stage, we will look towards a backyard count.

You can count as many times as you like over the week over a 20-minute period. The data collected assists BirdLife Australia in understanding more about the birds that live where people live.

So if you are a bird enthusiast or just a beginner, this is for you! I have my old Slater’s Field Guide that I still use as my ‘go to’ reference and it travels around the countryside with me (in normal circumstances).

There is a Field Guide/Bird Finder built into the app and on the website to help you identify birds.

There are many wonderful field guides available as books or apps – try your local bookstore or even library to get a hold of one. If you are still unsure after referring to a field guide, please leave the bird out.

The app Field Guide features just under 400 species even though there are around 800 species of birds in Australia. Be as general as possible when searching. There are some birds that are known colloquially by a different name that may not be their common name.

National Bird Week is a tradition that started back in the early 1900s when 28 October was first designated by the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, as the first ‘Bird Day’.

For further information, go to the Aussie Bird Count website here.